GLAAD TV reports find no 'excellent' networks

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

Updated 1:26 PM ET, Fri October 11, 2013

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TV's most memorable LGBT characters – MTV's 'Faking It' is introducing television's first ever intersex character. Lauren , played by actress Bailey De Young, has androgen insensitivity syndrome and is genetically male but has female sex characteristics. The show is one example of the many TV programs featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters. Here's a look at some of TV's most memorable LGBT characters:

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Jodie Dallas – On "Soap," Jodie Dallas became one of TV's first LGBT characters. Played by Billy Crystal, Dallas was gay but had relationships with women throughout the ABC show's four seasons, which aired during the late '70s and early '80s. Dallas also fathered a child named Wendy.

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Cameron and Mitchell – Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet) adopted a baby girl named Lily on the pilot episode of "Modern Family" in 2009. The pair made plans to adopt another child during the third season of the ABC show.

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Callie and Arizona – Dr. Callie Torres (Sarah Ramirez) and Dr. Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) were married during seventh season of "Grey's Anatomy" in 2011. The pair also have a baby girl they share with her father, Dr. Mark Sloan (Eric Dane).

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Lafayette Reynolds – Lafayette Reynolds, played by Nelsan Ellis, works as a cook and gay prostitute on the HBO series "True Blood."

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Kevin and Scotty – On "Brothers and Sisters," which aired on ABC from 2006 to 2011, Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys) proposed to Scotty Wandell (Luke Macfarlane). The pair had two children, Olivia and Daniel.

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Rickie Vasquez – Wilson Cruz played Rickie Vasquez, a gay 15-year-old, on "My So-Called Life." Despite garnering a cult following, the show only lasted one season on ABC.

On Friday GLAAD released two of its reports, the seventh annual Network Responsibility Index and the 18th annual Where We Are on TV report, and none of the networks received an excellent rating for having diverse LGBT characters and stories.

ABC, ABC Family, CW, FOX, MTV, NBC and Showtime were rated as "good"; CBS, FX, HBO, TLC, TNT and USA were "adequate"; and History and TBS received "failing" marks.

The ratings in the index were based on LGBT-inclusive content between June 2012 and May 2013, while Where We Are on TV relied on a character count and analysis of scripted characters in the upcoming 2013-2014 season. According to the data, the percentage of primetime broadcast scripted LGBT series regulars dropped to 3.3% from a record high of 4.4% last season. There was diversity, however. The report showed that there will be an equal number of women and men among LGBT characters during the 2013-2014 broadcast season, which means the storylines are moving beyond just featuring white gay males.

Same-sex parents on TV – 'Will and Grace': Eric McCormack and Bobby Cannavale as Will Truman and Vince D'Angelo. Their son Ben appeared in the series finale, marrying Grace's daughter, far in the future.

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Same-sex parents on TV – 'The New Normal': Andrew Rannells and Justin Bartha as Bryan Collins and David Sawyer, a couple having a child via surrogate mother Goldie Clemmons, played by Georgia King.

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EXPAND GALLERY

"Last season was a stellar one when it comes to the sheer number of gay, lesbian and bisexual representations on television, though diversity within those storylines showed room for improvement," said a statement from GLAAD's Wilson Cruz. "Though the number of LGBT characters dropped this season, shows like 'The Fosters,' with an interracial female couple raising a family, and characters like Unique on 'Glee' have not only moved the conversation about LGBT people forward, but are also a hit with audiences."

Some of the other findings include:

On cable, ABC Family was the most inclusive network GLAAD tracked last year with 50% of its original programming including LGBT impressions or storylines. It was followed by FX at 40%. History received a failing grade with no LGBT images on any of its shows last season.

ABC and FOX are the only networks to show increases this year and have the highest percentage of LGBT characters at 5.4% each. The CW is in third place at 3%. CBS is no longer last with 1.9% of its regular characters being LGBT, while NBC dropped from last year to 1%.

Of the 46 LGBT regular and recurring characters on broadcast networks, half are women and 28% are people of color. While last year there weren't any regular transgender characters on broadcast television, there will be one this season with the character of Unique on "Glee."

On cable, GLAAD counted 42 regular LGBT characters, up from 35 last season. An additional 24 recurring characters were counted. HBO will have the most characters with a total of 11, followed by Showtime with eight characters. Of those LGBT characters, 39% are women and 29% are people of color. Only one transgender character, Adam on "Degrassi," was counted, though he no longer appears on the program.

Of the 796 overall regular characters on broadcast primetime, the percentage of female characters has declined somewhat to 43%. People of color will once again make up 23% of all regular characters, while just 1% will be depicted as people with disabilities.

"Our television images not only reach American audiences, but countless others around the world," Cruz said. "It is time for the television networks to make new and groundbreaking LGBT stories a priority once again."